Pumpkin Butterscotch Chip Cookies

These Pumpkin Butterscotch Chip Cookies are the perfect pumpkin cookie! They are dense and chewy (not cakey!) and full of flavor! The butterscotch chips go perfectly with the pumpkin. You’ll definitely want to make these over and over!

Perfect Pumpkin Cookies

I’m so completely in love with these Pumpkin Butterscotch Chip Cookies. Not only are they pumpkin, which I’ll never turn down, but they have butterscotch chips, which I can never stop eating. And when you consider how easy they are to bake, making them is a total no-brainer.

I can’t even remember how many times I made these trying to get them just right, but I’m pretty sure it was at least 5 or 6 times. Getting a perfectly dense and chewy pumpkin cookie rather than a cakey one is not an easy task. Pumpkin puree is a natural leavener, which makes the cookies rise and end up cakey. I played around with the eggs and baking soda/baking powder to reduce the rise and alter the texture until I had it just right.

Ultimately I left out the eggs and used a touch of baking soda. The eggs just aren’t needed with the pumpkin in the cookies. But that touch of baking soda gives the extra rise the cookies need to bake properly and have a chewy texture.

These cookies are nice and easy to make too. No need to cream the butter or anything. You’ll use melted butter, combine the wet ingredients and then add in the dry ingredients. The hardest part is waiting while you refrigerate the cookie dough.

You’ll need to refrigerate the cookie dough for at least an hour. That’s the bare minimum to get a denser and more moist cookie. The longer you refrigerate the cookie dough, the more moist and dense they will be.

What You’ll Need

• All-Purpose Flour
• Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger are used for the perfect spice flavor. You could replace the nutmeg, cloves and ginger with pumpkin pie spice, but the spices are a little different and will give you a different flavor. While it may seem subtle, I truly prefer adding my own spices for the BEST flavor.
• Baking Soda: Just a touch for some extra rise and the perfect cookie texture.
• Salt: Always needed for flavor.
• Butter: This will be melted, unsalted butter.
• Light Brown Sugar: The light brown sugar adds additional flavor.
• Sugar
• Vanilla Extract
• Pumpkin Puree: Be sure to use canned pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. They aren’t the same thing.
• Butterscotch Chips

How to Make Pumpkin Butterscotch Chip Cookies

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper) and set aside.
2. Combine Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, spices, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
3. Combine Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar and sugar together until well combined. Add the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree and whisk until well combined.
4. Fold Wet and Dry Ingredients Together: Add the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula until well combined.
5. Add Butterscotch Chips: Fold in the butterscotch chips, reserving the extra ¼ cup for later.
6. Chill Cookie Dough: Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least an hour or overnight. They get even more dense and chewy the longer they are refrigerated.
7. Prep Cookie Dough: Make balls of 2 tablespoons of cookie dough and place onto the prepared cookie sheet. Press the cookies down to about the thickness you want them to be, they won’t spread a lot. Use the remaining butterscotch chips to place a few extras on top of each cookie before baking.
8. Bake: Bake for 10-15 minutes or until they just look fully baked. They should not look under baked.
9. Cool: Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then move the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
10. Serve and Store: Once cool, serve or store in an airtight container. Because of the moisture from the pumpkin in these cookies, they get even better the next day and stay good for at least 5-7 days.

Tips for Success

• Measure Flour Properly: It’s important to measure this accurately – using a food scale is the best way to do so. If you don’t have one, spoon the flour into your measuring cup little by little, then level it off at the top. Be sure to fluff up the flour before measuring.
• Refrigerate Cookie Dough: This cookie dough needs to be refrigerated for at least an hour. I even like to refrigerate it overnight. The longer it sits, the more moist and chewy the cookies will be.
• Adjust Baking Time: The longer the cookie dough is refrigerated, the more moist they get so you may need to bake them a minute or two more if you refrigerate them for longer and a little less if you only refrigerate them for an hour.

Storage Instructions

These cookies should be kept in an airtight container at room temperature. They will stay fresh for at least to 5-7 days! They are truly so moist and chewy, they may even last longer.

Do These Freeze Well?

They do indeed! Simply place the cooled cookies into a heavy-duty freezer bag, squeeze out all the air, seal the bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw out your cookies before enjoying them.

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